


An Assassin's Lust

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassin AU, M/M, Multi, Other, SasuNaru - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-05-31 14:43:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6474472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto, one of Konoha City's finest assassins, adores his job. He always gets things done and has a fun time doing it. However, due to a surplus of assassins and a lack of missions, he is assigned a partner. Sasuke Uchiha, the assassin prodigy. With clashing personalities and fighting styles, they have to learn to work together without killing each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Two, Something New

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

Pedestrians of many kinds looked up at the night sky in confusion at the sound of a frustrated scream coming from the rooftops. The voice had rang out clearly, surprisingly surpassing the sound of car horns blaring and talkative people. When no other sounds stood out, the citizens of Konoha City went back to their business, carrying on with their repetitive lives. If someone had bothered to continue looking up, they would have just barely been able to see the silhouette of a person jumping from one roof to another, followed by two more.

Naruto Uzumaki, the source of said scream, zipped across the rooftops while dodging small chimneys and satellite dishes, furiously trying to shake off his two tailgaters. As he ran, the cool night air burned his lungs despite the mask that covered his face. The mask resembled that of a fox’s face, with pointed, hollow black eyes and three red whiskers stretching across each cheek. A black nose and red curved mouth completed the mask, and he was proud to say that he designed it. That’s how he got his name; The Fox.

And like a fox, he scurried across the roofs of Konoha, occasionally looking back to see two men following close behind. At this point, he had two choice. He could either turn around and fight them or he could keep running and try to lose them. He decided to take the ladder, not wanting to shed more blood than he had to. Just because he was an Assassin didn’t mean he was a bloodthirsty killer.

With grunt, he jumped off the side of the building he’d been crossing and landed on the fire escape of the building next to it. Ignoring how his bones rattled from the harsh landing, Naruto bolted down the fire escape and into the alley below him. As he ran deeper into the alley, hoping to disappear in the shadows, he pondered how he’d managed to get caught.

His mission had been pretty simple. Go to the big marketing business downtown and kill it’s President, Danzo. He didn’t know why the man needed to be killed, but it wasn’t his place to question it. It had went by pretty smoothly, too. One of the windows on the top floor had been left open, allowing him to slip inside. Being so late at night, only a few people lingered inside the building; none of them except for the President residing on the floor he was on. Naruto had silently slipped into the man’s office and slit his throat before he could even blink. Afterwards, he had opened up another window and left without anything else occurring. With a frown, Naruto remembered that the window he’d opened gave a little bit of resistance, and he realized that the windows of the President’s office might have had silent alarms installed in them. That would probably explain why he was currently being chased.

Though he couldn’t see a thing in the near pitch-black alley, Naruto could faintly hear the taping of feet against pavement. He felt a rush of relief at seeing an open dumpster coming into view. Speeding up a little, Naruto ran towards the dumpster and silently jumped in, ignoring the stench that invaded his nostrils as he closed the lid above him. He was just thankful that the large green bin was empty save for a few garbage bags. He held his breath as he heard two sets of footsteps run by not even five seconds later, thankful that they kept going. He stayed in the dumpster for a few more minutes, not wanting to take the chance of the men still lingering around. When he finally jumped out, Naruto took in large gulps of air, silently cursing once he realized he would need to shower a few times before the dumpster’s scent would leave him.

Sighing, Naruto quietly made his way back through the alley and up the fire escape. He was soon jumping across the rooftops again, heading for the Assassin’s main headquarters. In reality, he was heading to the Sharingan Business Corporation building, which was just a cover up for the outside world. Naruto’s attitude soured when he remembered who was waiting for him back at said building; Iruka Umino, his teacher and guardian. With another sigh, he picked up the pace, not wanting to leave the strict man waiting for longer than needed.

 

\------------------------------------------

 

“What took you so long?” Iruka demanded, crossing his arm. 

Naruto was currently sitting in the older man’s office, slowly filling out the mission report that he was always given upon returning. He glanced up at the older man and ignored the irritated frown, focusing more on the hint of concern in his brown eyes.

“Sorry pops-”

_“Naruto.”_

Naruto sighed and tried again. “Sorry, Iruka-sensei. I think I tripped a silent alarm, cause I was chased around half the city by two of Danzo’s goons after I killed him.”

Iruka’s frown remained as he studied the blond before him, trying to judge whether or not he was hurt. “Really? What happened to them? Did they attack you?”

Chuckling at the older man’s concern, Naruto slid his mask to the side of his face and smiled brightly. He pushed his mission report across the wooden desk that separated them. “It’s all right here, Iruka-sensei. And calm down, I’m not a kid anymore!”

It was true. Naruto was now nineteen years old and perfectly capable of taking care of himself. To an extent, at least He’d been training as a Konoha Assassin since he was ten. Iruka and his boyfriend, Kakashi, had trained him from the beginning, slowly turning him into one of the best Assassins in the business. Well, he wasn’t the best but he would definitely consider himself in the top ten. Nowadays, Iruka and Kakashi do more mentoring and paperwork, but they still go on occasional missions when needed.

Iruka sighed and picked up the paper, quickly scanning over it. “I know you’re not a kid anymore, but you certainly _act_ like it sometimes! Don’t be so careless in the future!” With a huff, Iruka opened up one of his desk drawers and shoved Naruto’s mission report inside. Looking back up at the blond, he said, “Go home, Naruto. You need to rest, and there should be more ramen in the cabinets for you.”

Naruto grinned widely at his guardian and stood up. “Thanks, Iruka-sensei!” He slid his mask back over his face and stood up before walking towards the door, eager to get home to a bowl of steaming hot ramen. After his dumpster dive tonight, he surely deserved it.

“Oh, and one more thing Naruto,” The blond halted in his steps, turning towards the older man. “I know you have to work at the restaurant, but I need you to come in sometime tomorrow. Kakashi and I need to discuss something with you.”

“Huh? About what?” Naruto asked, his tone laced with confusion. When Iruka needed to talk to him, he usually didn’t put it off.

Iruka smiled at him and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. For now, just go home and rest. You deserve it.”

Naruto stared at his teacher for a few more seconds before pushing the door open. As he made his way towards the elevators down the hall, his mind mulled through the possibilities of what Iruka and Kakashi needed to talk to him about. It couldn’t be about what happened tonight, because he’d made _much_ more idiot mistakes in the past. Of course, they might want to talk to him _about_ his mistakes in general. They weren’t big mistakes, but Iruka could be strict on those kind of things. 

_Then again,_ Naruto thought with a grin. _Maybe Kakashi proposed._

He snickered at the thought of his two teachers finally getting married, but was quickly brought out of his amusement when he ran into something hard, causing him to stumble back a few steps. The ‘something hard’ grunted in irritation, obviously not happy with being bumped into. With a glare hidden behind his mask, Naruto looked up at the Assassin before him. He bitterly noticed that the other Assassin, now recognized as a male, was at least a good few inches taller than him. His hair was the color of midnight, styled in a way that remotely reminded him of a duck's behind, and his mask was styled to resemble a crow. The one thing that stood out to Naruto, though, was the long, bright red scarf that was wrapped around his neck. It seemed to make his very being appear elegant, especially when he walked.

“Watch where you’re going.” The taller man said, irritation lacing his smooth voice.

Bristling slightly at the command, Naruto clenched his fists at his sides. “I should be the one saying that to _you_ , asshole.” He fired back as calmly as he could manage. It was a lie, of course, since he was too wrapped up in his thoughts to really pay attention to his surrounding. However, he wasn't just going to let some stranger look down on him.

“Hn.” Was the only response given.

Naruto hissed as the quiet bastard walked by him without another word, their shoulders bumping harshly. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was people who thought they were high and mighty. On the bright side, he would probably never see The Crow, what he assumed was the jerk’s name, again. The only Assassins he saw outside of the building were his small group of friends; the Raccoon, the Mutt, the Beetle, the Sloth, the Swan, the Bear, the Turtle, the Rabbit, and the Tiger.(1)

Outside of being an Assassin, Naruto worked at a small diner with the Raccoon, Gaara Sabaku, and the Swan, Ino Yamanaka. While his Assassin job paid well, it only paid enough for a little over half of his living expenses, causing him to work a second job on the side.

Muttering something about ‘rude bastards’, Naruto stepped into the building’s elevator and pressed the lobby button. He really needed to go home and rest.

 

\---------------------

 

Naruto groaned loudly as he stepped through the door of his house, letting his mask clatter loudly to the ground. As he walked down the hall, passing the kitchen and the living room, he tiredly unclasped his white arm and leg plates, letting them fall where they may. He sighed as he reached the stairs, dreading the walk up. As he made his way upstairs, he slipped off his gloves and slowly began to pry off his chest plate. Once at the top of the stairs, Naruto began to drag himself through another small hallway, passing by a good sized bathroom and few guest rooms. At the end of the hallway, Naruto pushed open his door, groaning as his sore muscles became more and more evident. After kicking off his long boots, he flopped onto his bed, not bothering to take off his under armour. With his exhausted body now sinking into his comfortable mattress, it only took a few seconds before he was dozing off. 

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

Naruto nearly screamed in frustration as his cell phone began ringing shrilly. The last thing he wanted to do was speak to someone, which was extremely rare for the talkative blond. Blindly reaching out his arm, he grabbed his phone off of the bedside table and flipped it open, not even bothering to see who was calling.

“What is it?” He muttered rudely, not exactly caring about manners at the moment.

“..........”

At the silence on the other end of the line, Naruto slowly rose into a sitting position, a frown on his face. The only person who would greet him on the phone with silence was his redheaded friend.

“Gaara? What’s wrong?” 

He heard a small sigh on the other end of the line before he got an answer.

“They gave me a partner..........”

At this, Naruto quickly shook away his sleep and pressed the phone closer to his ear. “What do you mean?” He could practically feel his friend’s scowl through the phone.

“Exactly what I said, idiot. I’ve been assigned a partner for my missions.”

Naruto could hear past the anger in his friend’s voice and was able to detect the distress hidden in it. Gaara didn't really work well with others. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know yet,” Gaara muttered, irritation in his tone. “I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. Naruto stomach dropped as he remembered his talk with Iruka. He was supposed to go back to the Sharingan building tomorrow so he could talk about something with his two teachers. Surely they weren’t going to tell him.............

“D-did they tell you why?” Naruto asked quickly.

Gaar huffed and muttered, “Yeah. They said something about too many Assassins and not enough missions. They’re pairing a lot of single Assassins with a partner to fix the problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got one.”

Naruto cursed loudly and nearly dropped his phone. He could not have a partner! All he’d ever known was working by himself and doing things his own way. If he had a partner, he would seriously be dragged down. He absolutely would not accept it.

“Naruto.”

The irritated voice of Gaara quickly directed Naruto’s attention back to the phone. He nervously raised it up and placed it back against his ear.

“What are you thinking about?” Gaara demanded, always able to read his blond friend like an open book.

Naruto fisted his bed sheets with his free hand and growled softly, “I won’t accept it. I don’t need a partner and I won’t take one!”

“Idiot,” Gaara muttered over the phone. “Do you think I’d be doing this if I had a choice? If you refuse having a partner, then you don’t get any more missions. It'd be the same as quitting.”

The blond’s blood turned cold at this information. He really didn’t have a choice? What if his partner was an inexperienced newbie? His mind was swimming with all the problems and worries that a partner would bring, and he knew that it would plague his mind until his talk with Iruka and Kakashi.

“Why the hell did you call and tell me this?! Now I can’t sleep!” 

He heard Gaara snort on the end of the line. “If you heard it anywhere else, you would overreact and do something stupid.”

“Would not!” 

“Hmph. 'Night, Naruto.”

Naruto huffed when his friend hung up on him. He was used to it, though. Naruto threw his phone onto his bedside table and smashed his face into one of his pillows. He really did not want to deal with this right now. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and not wake up for a few weeks. Well, he might wake up for breakfast since he’d skipped on dinner tonight, but that didn’t count.

As thoughts continued to toss around in his head, Naruto’s body began to feel heavy from all the stress he had previously put on it. Slowly, his mind began to slow down until his thoughts were nothing but muddled bits of images and words. He finally fell asleep, but his problems would come back to him in a rush the next day.


	2. The Prodigy Crow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, my ducklings! Hopefully the first chapter enticed you enough to continue reading this story!
> 
> Disclaimer: Last I checked, I didn't own Naruto.

Naruto groaned lowly as he slid his black turtleneck on, his sore muscles screaming at him to lay back down and go to bed. It was six o’clock in the morning and he’d only ended up with about four hours of sleep. Even so, he had no choice but to get dressed and return to the Sharingan business building to see what Iruka needed to talk to him about, even though he had a pretty good idea what it was about now. Normally he would put it off until after work, but he wanted that time to hang out with his friends. 

He slipped on a pair of grey jeans, groaning as his beaten muscles were stretched. At least he didn’t have to put on his armor. In the daytime, Assassins have two ways they can enter the building. One being that the can dress in casual, everyday clothes and come in through the front door. The second option being that they can come in their Assassin clothing and enter through one of the building’s windows. Usually Naruto chose the latter, but due to his aching muscles he was going to go with the front door. 

Picking up the orange scarf that Ino made him, Naruto headed downstairs, his stomach demanding food. Walking into the kitchen, he threw the scarf on the back of a kitchen chair and headed straight for the top cabinet where he knew the ramen was. After skipping dinner last night, there was no way he was going to pass up breakfast. He pulled out a packet and set it on the counter, quickly followed by a pot. Naruto filled the pot with water and set it on the oven, turning it on so the water could start boiling and pouring the noodles in. 

Naruto shivered as he went to sit down at the kitchen table, the room being colder than he would’ve liked. Glancing out the window, he watched as the orange and brown leaves outside fell from the trees and danced together until they disappeared past the window’s edge. It was the middle of fall and winter was coming fast, much to Naruto’s displeasure. He preferred warm weather, where he could go out jogging, swimming, and camping. Now he was forced to bundle up in scarves and jackets.

After a while Naruto got up to go drain the noodles and transfer them to a bowl, bringing it to the table with a pair of chopsticks and sitting back down. He ate slowly, seeing no reason to rush himself. He didn’t have to be at work until eight thirty, which gave him two hours and thirty minutes. Despite not rushing, he was done eating within the next few minutes and got up to put the bowel in the sink. Now the only thing left to do was head out to the Sharingan building.

Joy.

He picked up his scarf as he made his way to the door, wrapping it firmly around his neck before picking up his bag and stepping outside, flinching as cold air attacked his face. As he began his walk to the Sharingan building, Naruto regretted his decision not to grab a jacket. Iruka had reprimanded him more than once for not dressing according to the weather. Naruto realized he should probably start listening to him, seeing as how he felt like his whole body was about to turn into a popsicle.

Naruto breathed into his hands as he walked, trying his best to keep them warm. It took him twenty minutes to get to the business building from his house, time that could easily be cut in half if he had a car. Unfortunately, most of the money he made had to be spent on paying the bills and keeping himself fed. Iruka and Kakashi helped out sometimes, like the other day when Iruka had stocked his cabinets with more ramen.

Naruto was used to the two older males looking out for him, seeing as how Iruka and Kakashi had basically filled the role of his parents his whole life. His biological parents both had been elite members of the Konoha Assassins, his father having died when he was on a high-ranking mission in Kumogakure City to kill a man named Orochimaru. After hearing the news of what happened, Kushina quickly made way for Kumogakure to avenge her fallen husband by killing the man responsible, which was Orochimaru himself. It was stated in the couple’s will that if they were to die, Iruka would be the one to gain custody over their newborn son. Naruto had been told all of this at an early age in hopes of easing his mind and keeping him from having any mixed feelings towards his deceased parents.

Naruto thought about them sometimes, as well as what things would be like if they were still alive. Now, though, all that was on his mind was what would happen once he was in Iruka’s office. After his talk with Gaara last night, his mind was buzzing with concern over possibly getting a partner. He tried to push the idea out of his mind for while, knowing it wouldn’t do any good worrying about it until he actually found out what the situation was.

As the houses around him began to thin out and business buildings began to multiply, Naruto tightened his scarf around his neck and kept an eye out for a large red circle with three commas inside. There was no missing the building when it came into view, it being one of the tallest ones in Konoha.

Naruto continued forward as he stepped through the sliding doors, sighing in relief as warm air washed over him. He walked over to the front desk, smiling at the blonde sitting behind it as he lifted his head from a stack of papers.

“Hey, Deidara!” Naruto greeted, lying his arms on the tall black counter.

Deidara grinned, his pale blue eyes lighting up a bit in delight. “Hey! What are you doing here so early? Usually you avoid this place like some sort of horrible plague, un!”

“Iruka said he needed to talk to me, and I really don’t want to spend my afternoon here so I decided to get it over with.” Naruto explained, letting out a frustrated huff as he nervously tapped his fingers against the countertop.

Deidara gave him a sympathetic smile, giving Naruto the suspicion that he knew what was about to happen, and said, “Go on up, un.”

Naruto gave him a cautious look before walking around the desk and making his way towards the building’s private elevator. Once inside he typed in the passcode for the 19th floor, the main floor for the Assassins part of the building. In total there were 12 floors reserved specifically for Assassins, the other 18 floors being used for the actual business workers, most of them not even knowing what was in the rest of the building. With the passcode, the elevator made not other stops until it had reached its designated floor.

As he was on the way up, Naruto slipped his fox mask out of his bag and put it on. He only let a select few know what his real identity was, deciding it would be safer if he mostly kept his identity a secret.

As the elevator stopped on his designated floor, Naruto stepped out and nodded to a few Assassins that passed by. He started making his way to Iruka’s office, grinning behind his mask as he walked by the Beetle, the other giving him a small wave which he gladly returned. He reached the door to his teacher’s office and knocked lightly, stepping inside once he had heard a faint ‘Come in!’.

“Hey, Iruka-sensei.” Naruto greeted, moving to sit down in one of the seats placed in front of the desk. He immediately noted the absence of his grey haired mentor and raised and eyebrow. "Where's Kakashi?"

Iruka looked up from a paper he’d been reading and gave the blonde a smile, sitting back in his chair. “Naruto. Thanks for coming. Kakashi got called in for training, so he wasn't able to come.”

Naruto nodded and sunk down in his seat, lying his arms on the armrests. “Gotcha. So...what did you want to talk to me about?”

The smile quickly dropped from Iruka’s face at the other’s question. He cleared his throat in discomfort, resting his arms on his desk.

“Yes, about that. I’m sure you’ve heard about the recent surplus of Assassin’s, right?”

Naruto nodded tensely, knowing exactly where this was going. He really wished he hadn’t talked to Gaara on the phone last night, at least then he wouldn't be this nervous.

“Well, because of this we’re requiring that all single Assassins be put into teams of two that we have selected based off of skill and ability.”

Naruto grit his teeth, wanting nothing more than to argue and make a statement about how he didn’t need a partner. That his skills were already more advanced than most and that a partner would only slow him down. He stayed quiet, though, knowing that Iruka would simply dismiss his protest and give him a disapproving look for not listening to his superiors. For once, he knew there was no point in arguing.

“Do you have any questions, Naruto?” Iruka asked, a little surprised at the blond’s calm reaction. He had expected an outburst. Yelling. Maybe even a broken chair or two.

Naruto pursed his lips and shook his head, digging his fingers into the arms of the chair to keep from speaking out.

“Well, good. Now that that’s settled, you actually chose the perfect time to come in.” The elder man began, glancing at the door behind Naruto. “You can come in now!”

Tensing at the sound of the door slowly opening, Naruto forced himself not to turn around, his stomach churning as he knew that whoever just entered was his newly declared partner. Naruto heard soft footsteps come closer as the person entered the room and took a seat beside him. Finally, he turned his head to the side, having to bite his tongue in order to stay quiet. Sitting there in the seat next to him, his new partner, was that bastard with the red scarf.

“Fox, this is the Crow,” Iruka nodded towards the other. "Also known as-"

The Crow lifted his hand to his mask and slowly slid it to the side of his head, obviously not caring that much about keeping his identity a secret. 

“Sasuke Uchiha.” The black haired man muttered, an almost bored look in his eye that made Naruto’s blood boil. And then it hit him.

Uchiha. As in, one of THE UCHIHA. 

Naruto cursed inwardly as he fully realized who he was being partnered with. Sasuke Uchiha was the younger brother of the man who ran and owned the whole company; Itachi Uchiha. He’d heard stories about how Sasuke had been born an Assassins prodigy, passing all classes and courses with flying colors. Not only that, but Sasuke had an insane amount of admirers, male and female both. Granted, he didn't have much solid information on the man other than that, but he still couldn't help but feel immediate dislike towards him.

And now, they were partners. 

“Sasuke,” Iruka said, gaining the attention of the two men sitting in front of him. “As I’m sure you already know, this is the Fox. He will be your new partner when you go out on missions and vice versa. I expect both of you to respect each other and learn to work together. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Naruto muttered, glaring down at the floor.

“Yes.” Came the monotone reply from Sasuke.

Iruka smiled at the two men, glad, if not a bit surprised, to have no arguments between the two. “Excellent. If you two don’t have any questions, you’re dismissed.” 

Both men stood up at the same time, much to Naruto’s irritation and left the room. On the way to the elevator, neither said a word to each other, Naruto continuously throwing glances at the taller man. It wasn’t until they stepped onto the elevator and the doors had slid shut that the raven-haired man spoke.

"Not going to take off your mask?" He asked, turning his head to stare at the other with piercing black eyes.

Naruto pursed his lips, glancing at the other through his mask. "I don't show my face to people I don't trust."

Sasuke hummed quietly, obviously not going to pursue the subject further. Knowing he can't go down to the first floor with his mask on, Naruto typed in the pass code from before and hit the button for the 10th floor, one of the unused floors of the building. Once the elevator stopped, Naruto stepped off and turned around to watch the elevator doors shut back. Sasuke stared at him as the heavy silver doors began to move, Naruto finding himself unable to look away from his dark gaze until the elevator doors completely shut. 

Naruto shook off the weird state he’d been in from his and Sasuke’s staredown and waited a minute before pressing the button for the elevator to come back up. He slipped off his mask and had just put it in his bag when the elevator returned, allowing him to step inside and press the button for the main floor. Naruto was relieved to find that Sasuke was gone by the time he reached the lobby, and stepped off the elevator. As he began walking towards the front door he sent a wave Deidara’s way.

“See you later, Deidara!”

The other blonde looked up from some papers he was reading and smiled brightly. “Later Naruto, un!”

Naruto left the building, not in as bad a mood as he thought he would have been, and headed for the restaurant. He had to walk for about fifteen minutes before the small red brick building he was looking for came into view. He pushed through the front glass doors and immediately caught sight of his friend Ino waiting tables, both exchanging small waves before Naruto scurried in through the kitchen and back to the locker room. Naruto went to his locker and tossed his stuff inside before changing out of his clothes and putting on his uniform; a black polo, black slacks, and a white apron. Once he was finished dressing, Naruto went back into the kitchen and clocked in before seeking out Gaara. He found the redhead a minute later, cooking away at one of the stoves and making scrambled eggs.

“Hey, Gaara.” Naruto greeted, stopping next to the smaller man. 

Gaara didn’t look up as he replied, his eyes trained on the eggs. “How'd it go?” He asked, getting straight to the point. 

Naruto sighed in frustration and rubbed at the back of his neck, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. “...I got partnered with the big man’s younger brother.”

At that, Gaara paused and turned his head a bit to stare at his blond friend. “Uchiha?” 

After receiving a small nod of confirmation, the redhead turned his head back to continue working on the eggs. “...I’ll be meeting my partner after work.”

Naruto nodded and gave his friend a small sympathetic pat on the back. “Good luck.” He said before turning around and leaving the kitchen, ready to get started on waiting tables.

 

\--------------------------------------------

_Earlier that day_

 

Sasuke Uchiha sat in front of his brother’s desk, the clock resting on it reading 5:15a.m. as his black eyes clashed with the older man’s red ones. They sat in silence as they fought out one of their common Uchiha staredowns. After a good two minutes of nothing but silence, Itachi finally spoke.

“Sasuke,” he began, laying his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together. “Do you know why I wanted to see you?”

The younger Uchiha snorted quietly at his brother’s question, as if it was foolish of him to even ask. 

“I’m assuming it has something to do with the current amount of Assassins that keep getting partnered up.” 

Itachi smiled inwardly at his brother spot-on deduction. Of course, his outward expression didn’t change at all. Anything else would simply be un-Uchiha.

“That’s exactly why I called you in,” Itachi confirmed, reaching down and opening one of the drawers of his desk. “You will also be receiving a partner, Sasuke. I picked them out myself.”

Sasuke’s face hardened at the information but remained silent, knowing it was not his place to argue. He raised an eyebrow as Itachi pulled out a thick manila envelope and slid it across the desk to him. He picked it up and opened it, taking a peek inside. Sasuke frowned in confusion as the first thing he noticed was a picture of a blue eyed, blonde headed man with three thin black scars on each cheek, a ridiculously large smile on his face. Behind it were more pictures and what looked to be information sheets. Sasuke looked up at his brother, the unspoken question being obvious.

Itachi leaned back in his seat, resting his arms on the armrests. “That, Sasuke, is the person you will be partnered with. I want you to take that folder home and read over it carefully. That young man is a very....” the raven haired man paused for a moment, carefully thinking about how to word it. “unique person. I can already promise you that it will be rather difficult to get along with him, but I expect you to do your best and at least put forth the effort in cooperating with him.”

Curious about what exactly his brother meant by his partner being a ‘unique person’, Sasuke opened his mouth to ask but quickly closed it back, deciding that Itachi would just deny him an answer anyways. Sasuke closed the envelope and stood up, carefully tucking it under his arm. He left his brother’s office and made his way towards the elevator, planning to thoroughly read through the folder once he got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for Chapter 2!  
> Chapter 3 is already in progress, so hopefully it will be up within a few days or so.  
> Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Hands to Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome to chapter three of An Assassin's Lust!  
> Thanks so much for sticking with me so far, and I'm already itching to start on the next chapter! Also, a big thanks to those who left kudos or a comment, or both!  
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The first few days following his unwanted partnership were uneventful, Naruto receiving no information for new missions from any of his superiors. While he wasn’t too happy about the lack of assassin work, it gave him more time to focus on himself, something he’d been neglecting to do for quite some time now. He cleaned up most of his house, fixed up a few of his weapons that were in dire need of attention, and restocked a large portion of the kitchen. He even managed to pick up an extra shift at the restaurant when Gaara got called in for a last minute mission. Work must have been slow for quite a few others as well, as he received a surprising phone call from two of his friends that evening asking if he’d like to join them for coffee. He jumped at the chance, of course, eager for any sort of human interaction that he could get at the moment.

 

Naruto had ended up leaving his house a bit too early in his eagerness, mask and equipment stored safely in his backpack just in case he got called up, and was now sitting by himself in a booth at one of the local coffee shops in the city. He was tempted to go ahead and order something but decided against it, choosing to wait until his friends arrived before getting anything. His patience was rewarded, as it wasn’t long before the door’s bell chimed and familiar head of blonde hair stepped into view, followed by an equally familiar head of pink. 

 

“Sakura! Ino!” He called happily, waving them over from his spot in the corner. 

 

The two girls quickly made their way over, both sliding into the booth across from him. “Naruto, I’m glad you could come!” Ino greeted, gently brushing her bangs out of her face before resting her arms on the table. “We know it was kind of sudden calling you out, but we figured you might be free 'cause of the whole...you know.” She shrugged, knowing there wasn’t any real reason to elaborate.

 

Naruto chuckled good naturedly and shook his head. “No, you’re right. Right now I’m free as a bird,” he explained, though he was unable to hide the hint of impatience in his tone. “It’s been almost three days now and I haven’t gotten a single call about a mission. What about you two?” 

 

Sakura spoke up first, lightly tapping her fingers against the table. “It’s been about the same for us, to be honest. I think it was two days ago that we had a mission?” She tried to recall, glancing over at Ino who nodded in confirmation.

 

Naruto had to resist the urge to sigh, somewhat envious that Sakura and Ino had been lucky enough to receive each other as partners. Why couldn’t have he been so fortunate. He could have been partnered up with Gaara, or even Kiba! But instead, he was stuck with-

 

“-Sasuke?”

 

He jerked to attention when he realized that Sakura was still speaking, offering a sheepish smile in apology. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

 

Sakura frowned at having to repeat herself, leaning forward a bit to make sure he was really paying attention. “I  _ said, _ have you heard anything new on Sasuke?” She repeated, raising an eyebrow. “I figured you would try and meet up with him sometime. You know, talk and get a good grasp on how you two are going to work together?”

 

Now it was his turn to frown, leaning back in his seat to try and fully absorb what Sakura was saying. “Well....no, not really. After Iruka introduced us a few days ago, we just kind of parted ways. Really, we don’t even have a way to contact each other besides through the company.” He informed, shrugging his shoulders. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t have a reason to try and contact the Uchiha. Because really, there wasn’t much of a way for them to grasp how the other worked in the field besides experiencing it first hand.

 

“Well, maybe you should-”

 

“Hang on a second! Before we go any further with talking about work, let's focus on the reason we came here. Coffee.” Ino interrupted, holding her hand up to get the other’s attention. “What do you two want? My treat.”

 

Knowing better than to decline the lovely yet temperamental woman’s offer, Naruto and Sakura both rattled off their orders, waiting until Ino slipped out of the booth before continuing their conversation.

 

“Okay, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m getting the vague sense that you don’t like Sasuke.” Sakura began calmly, fixing the blond with a look that dared him to try lying to her. The two have been friends for nearly three years now, and Naruto knew better than to try and keep something from the observant pinkette. Besides, even if he tried to hide something she could probably beat the truth out of him. Wouldn’t be the first time.

 

“Yeah, well, I don’t. I’ve spoken maybe two sentences to the guy, and he’s responded each time with an attitude! I’m telling you, Sakura, I can already tell he’s gonna be a pain in the ass.” He stated with confidence, folding his arms over his chest. Just thinking about the man and his standoffish attitude was enough to make him irritated.

 

Sakura hummed thoughtfully at his deduction, green orbs trained intensely on his face. “Well....I say you just need to give him a chance. He’s probably just as unhappy about this whole situation as you are. And I  _ know  _ you probably weren’t a ray of sunshine when you talked to him, given how you’re acting now.” She accused, gently nudging him under the table with her foot. 

 

Give him a chance? Naruto forced himself to pause and really think about it for moment. True, his first encounter with Sasuke could have went considerably better, and he wasn’t exactly polite during that time. However, Naruto specifically remembered the other being the first one to make a snide comment, which in his opinion gave him full rights to respond in the way he did. Even in their second encounter Sasuke was the first to say something, and while it wasn’t a deliberate jab at him, Naruto couldn’t help but feel like he was being teased in some way.

 

“Besides,” Sakura continued, noticing the thoughtful look that had taken over her friend’s face. “That could just be the way he acts while on the job, you know? He could be a totally different person when he’s....well, not ‘the Crow’.” 

 

Naruto considered that, he really did, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that that was Sasuke’s personality in general. However, he really didn’t want to continue on this topic when he might have to see the bastard in a few days, so he opted to just agree for now. “You could be right, Sakura. I’ll  _ try _ to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I won’t make any promises.”

 

A small smile graced the pinkette’s face at hearing this, clearly pleased with his decision. Ino came back not even a minute later with a small tray in hand, passing out everyone’s drinks before sitting down. However, there was notable look of discomfort on her face, her complexion somewhat pale.

 

“Hey….can I ask you guys something?” She asked, tone lacking its usual chirp.

 

Naruto and Sakura both shared a look, the latter choosing to answer. “Of course, Ino. What's up?”

 

There was a long pause as Ino tried to figure out what it was she was trying to get out, eyes focused on the coffee cup cradled between her hands. “Do you ever find it….weird? You know, how we live our lives.”

 

“....What do you mean?” Naruto asked cautiously, a bit unsure of the tone in Ino’s voice. He could already tell what she was hinting at, and he wasn’t sure if it was a topic he wanted to pursue.

 

“You  _ know _ what I mean!!” She snapped, though her voice remained low enough so that those nearby wouldn't be able to hear. “We kill people, Naruto. We get paid, multiple times a week, to put on masks and take the lives of people that we don't know. People with families, friends, and neighbors.” Ino stated coldly, her usual bright eyes darkened by the emotions she was currently dealing with. She suddenly pointed to the girl at the register, voice cracking when she spoke again. “That girl….that girl's picture was on the desk of one of the people we murdered a few nights ago. Seeing her just...kind put things into perspective for me. Who was she to the person we killed? A daughter? A niece? She probably doesn't even know what happened yet. The jobs we do...are they even justifiable?” She demanded, her cup creaking dangerously as her grip tightened on it. “I mean, we're sitting here like normal people, drinking coffee like we don’t each have a kill streak in our files. We work at a restaurant and pretend like we didn’t kill people just a day earlier. Do we even deserve to have a normal side to our lives?” She pressed, a look of near desperation passing over her face. It was clear that this wasn’t the first time she had thought about this. It was merely the first time she had voice it.

 

Both of her companions fell silent, neither knowing how to answer her question. Frighteningly enough, Naruto had asked himself those sort of questions plenty of times before, as well. There had been countless nights where he lay awake in bed, unable to fall asleep as the image of his last kill flashed freshly through his mind, over and over and over again until he made himself sick. The tasks they were paid to do,  _ expected _ to do, were haunting. But….

 

“You can't think about it.”

 

“...What?” Ino muttered, eyebrows drawing together slightly.

 

“We can't think about it, Ino,” Naruto repeated softly, eyes drifting down to stare at his own cup. “It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong….we're never really given enough details to know anyways. Killing people...taking lives...it's a part of our lives just as much as working at the restaurant. And until we're old enough to retire or quit, it always will be. You just can't...dwell on it.” He tried to explain, a frown tugging at his lips. “If you think about it too much and try to rationalize it….it'll smother and suffocate you. You'll go crazy. All you can do is keep killing, and keep making money so that you  _ can  _ live a normal life. Otherwise you-”

 

All three of them nearly jumped out of their skins as a shrill ringing interrupted Naruto, the happy, upbeat tune awkwardly managing to break the dark atmosphere that had settled around then. Naruto quickly dug his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, pressing it up against his ear.

 

“Hello?”

 

_ “Naruto, it's Iruka. Are you free right now? We just had a job come up and we think you and Sasuke would be a good match for it.” _

 

A small sigh of relief escaped his lips at hearing his mentor’s voice, already rising from his seat. “I am actually. I can be there in fifteen.” He quickly snapped his phone shut and shot his two friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry, ladies, but duty calls! Try not to miss me too much, yeah?” He grinned, trying his best to brighten up their moods before taking off. Both girls quickly waved him off as he grabbed his drink and left the cafe. He hoped that his words would get across to Ino, and he made a mental note to check in with her the next time they worked together at the restaurant.

 

\-------------

 

Naruto wasted no time in heading off to the company building, opting not to take a cab as it wasn't too far away. As promised, within fifteen minutes he was walking through the building's door and heading up the elevator to Iruka’s office. He made a short stop on one of their reserved floors so that he could change into his gear, mask stationed firmly over his face when he continued his way up. When he stepped through the door to Iruka’s office, he wasn’t too surprised to see Sasuke already sitting in a seat on the opposite side of the desk. He seemed like the kind of guy to show up early for events.

 

Taking his respectful seat next to the other man, Iruka immediately took up briefing them on the mission they had been called in for. He unfolded a large piece of paper and slid it over to them, revealing a large and elaborate layout of what appeared to be a museum. “This mission is going to be a bit different than the ones you’re used to,” he began, letting them look over the blueprint as he sat back in his seat. “And by saying that, I mean that you are not to kill anyone, no matter the circumstance.”

 

Both men looked up at him in surprise at hearing this, Naruto being the first to voice his confusion.

 

“Not that I’m complaining about not having to kill anyone, but.....why not?” He asked, eyes flickering from his mentor to the paper on the desk.

 

“Because, for this mission we need you two to be invisible. No one can know that you two will even be there. Meaning no killing, stay out of sight from cameras, and don’t trip any alarms.” He sent a discreet glance at Naruto when he mentioned the last part, having a short flashback to his last mission. “We’ve been receiving a few tips that the manager of this museum is somehow connected to the disappearance of a few of our assassins....as well as a few illegal drug dealings. But as I’m sure you know, that isn’t the concern here. If anything, we just want to get a bit of information on the man to see if we can dig anything up. If it turns up a blank case, then no harm done. So long as you two stay out of sight.” He emphasized. “If you two are caught, it could open up a big can of worms.”

 

With that, he tossed Naruto a slim silver device that he quickly recognized as a scanner. To Sasuke he tossed a small flash drive. “So what will probably work best is if one of you create some sort of distraction while the other sneaks into the manager’s office to stock up on information. Scan any files that look important, and download anything from his computer that might stand out. I’ll let the two of you decide on your own who will take on what task.” He stated simply, resting his arms on the desk as he studied them. “Any questions?”

 

“Actually, sir,” Sasuke began slowly, raising his head from where he was once again studying the building’s layout. “Wouldn’t it be easier to do this during daylight hours, while the museum is hosting tours and such? I can image it would be easier to slip into the office amongst a large crowd than to do so at night when security is more alert.”

 

Iruka smiled at the man’s concern and shook his head, clearly expecting such a response from him. “Actually, no. After some quick observations, it appears that the manager is at the museum for nearly every day it’s open, and he almost never leaves his office. Besides, at night it seems that there’s only one security guard on duty, and the rest is left to camera's, sensor alarms, and the typical door alarms. It should be fairly easy for you two given your skills.”

 

After a moment or two of silence, Sasuke offered a nod and settled back in his seat. “I think we’re good to go, then.”

 

Naruto nodded in agreement, taking the blueprint from the table and folding it up before shoving it into one of his pockets. He figured they could use it later when deciding how they were going to go about breaking and entering the museum. 

 

“Alright then, you boys are free to head out. Just remember, do  _ not  _ get caught.” Iruka reminded sternly, waving them off towards the door.

 

Naruto and Sasuke rose from their seats and left the room, both heading towards the elevator. They climbed in a hit the button for the last floor of the assassin’s part of the building, where there would be plenty of windows that exited onto one of the neighboring rooftops. As the elevator began to move and there were enveloped in silence, Naruto stole a glance at the other man through his mask. 

 

“So....how are we going to do this?” He decided to ask, knowing that they would have to discuss it sooner or later.

 

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, arms resting casually at his sides. After the silence stretched on, Naruto started to think he wasn’t even going to answer at all. “I guess it all depends on who can do what better.” He finally muttered, not even turning his head towards the blond. “Which do you think you’re more skilled at: distractions or evasive sneaking?” 

 

For a brief moment, Naruto was surprised that the other hadn’t just flat out decided what they were going to do on his own. Not that he was complaining, but it threw him off a bit. “Well, I’m good at distractions, but usually only when  _ I’m  _ the distraction.” He quickly responded, just as the elevator doors slid open.

 

They both stepped out into the cubicle filled room, though there was no one around save for a few other assassins who were also planning out their missions. “I’ll do the distraction, then. Just don’t screw up on your part.” 

 

Naruto’s head snapped over in his direction at his final comment, though Sasuke didn’t seem to care as he simply made his way over to one of the room’s windows. 

 

“What makes you think I’m the one who’s going to screw up?!” Naruto demanded, following him over to the window. Okay yeah, he had screwed up on missions a few times in the past, but they were small mistakes that were hardly even worth mentioning. Even so, Sasuke glanced back at him over his shoulder, the hollow black eyes of his mask boring into him.

 

“I didn’t say that you would. I’m just telling you not to.” He stated simply, and Naruto swore that he could hear a smirk in his tone.

 

He opened his mouth to retort but didn’t get the chance to. In a flash, Sasuke slide open a window and hopped up onto the ledge, leaping outside and onto a nearby building’s roof. Naruto, knowing that he was expected to follow, snapped his mouth shut and quickly jumped out after him. He quickly caught up to him, jumping alongside of him from building to building.

 

“We’ll stop on one of the buildings next to the museum to figure out our entry points. Then we can discuss exactly how we’re going to time this.” Sasuke called out, just loud enough for the blond to hear him past his mask and the wind that was rushing by them.

 

Naruto immediately had to bite back the instinct to refuse, frustrated with the way Sasuke just seemed to ooze an air of leadership. He couldn’t argue, though. After all, it was the best plan of action for them to take. Really, it was more like Sasuke was just stating the obvious. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be irritated by it.

 

After continuous building hopping in what was an almost comfortable silence, the two finally came to halt on a roof not far from the museum, the now darkened sky hiding them with ease. Naruto slipped the building’s blueprint from his pocket and unfolded it for them to look at, immediately picking out any potential entry spots. Before he could even make a suggestion, Sasuke beat him to the punch.

 

“If you’re small enough to fit, then it looks like the best way to get in will be through the ventilation shafts on the roof, since most of the doors have alarms installed on them.” Sasuke suggested, idly gesturing to the museum’s roof.

 

“Damn, I hate the vents....” Naruto muttered, eyebrows furrowing slightly in displeasure behind his mask. “Why can’t we just hack the security system? You know...shut it off for a few minutes?” He suggested hopefully, wanting nothing more than to avoid crawling around in a set of tight vents. Ever since that one time he ran into a huge rat while crawling through the ventilation shafts of a previous mission, he had tried to avoid them at all costs.

 

“What would be the point in that?” Came the exasperated reply, and Naruto could practically see that look of irritation that was surely on the other’s face. “That would attract attention. The vents will let us go in completely undetected. Use your brain, dobe.”

 

Naruto felt the veins under his skin burn with liquid fire at the jab to his intelligence, seething from the fact that he knew Sasuke was actually right. “It was just a suggestion, you don’t have to be an ass.” He spat, folding the building plans back up and pocketing it. This might be more stressful than he originally thought. “And if that’s the case, do we even need a distraction? Why not just go in, both of us collect the information, and then get out?” Ha! Let’s see what the smart bastard had to say to  _ that! _

 

“We could do that, but it will be safer to have a distraction.” Sasuke was already making his way to the edge of the building as he explained. “It wouldn’t do any good to have a security guard walk in on  _ both  _ of us snooping through a computer and files. Since I can’t be spotted, it will only be a short distraction, so you’ll have to be quick,” he warned before jumping to another building, Naruto following close behind until they both landed on the roof of the museum.

 

Sasuke approached the opening of the ventilation system and, just as Naruto was about to offer a tool to unscrew the ends with, pried the gate off as easily as if it were the tab on a can of soda. Naruto was briefly thankful for his mask, otherwise he would probably look ridiculous due to his current gaping mouth. He could tell that Sasuke was strong, both from reputation and just from observing, but that had actually been....impressive.

 

Setting the gate down on the ground, Sasuke moved aside and gestured for Naruto to go in first. Of course. Switching on the small light on his left shoulderpad, Naruto moved towards the vent and hoisted himself inside feet-first since the first direction it went in was down. He hesitated for moment and glanced back at Sasuke. “How do we know when we get to the right room? I didn’t memorize where the office is.” He mentioned, worried that they would get lost and screw something up.

 

“Don’t worry, I did. I’ll let you know when we get there,” Sasuke promised. “Now, get moving already.”

 

A surprised yelp flew past Naruto’s lips as a firm smack landed on the center of his back side, though it definitely proved to get him moving. In fact, he lurched forward from the shock and nearly fell into the ventilation shaft, luckily managing to catch himself. His cheeks burned in embarrassment behind his mask, and he would have turned to fix the bastard with a glare were it not for the fact that the action would have been pointless.

 

“Hey, hands to yourself!!” He hissed, somehow managing to keep his voice firm despite the initial surprise that the action had induced.

 

The only response that was offered to that was a chuckle and a, "Better get moving, then". Needless to say, Naruto was quick to start his shimmy down the ventilation shaft after that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have the first intimate interaction between our two stubborn boys! It'll only escalate from here, right?  
> Thanks so much for reading! The next chapter is going to be a fun one(sort of), so keep an eye out!


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